(TotalConservative.com) – The parents of a convicted school shooter will themselves face trial for involuntary manslaughter for their role in their son’s murder spree. The parents have thus failed to have the charges against them dismissed for purchasing a handgun for their then 15-year-old son, who went on to use it to kill four students and wound six additional people in 2021.
The Michigan State Supreme Court denied the appeal of the parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, in a simple one-line ruling stating that the court was “not persuaded” by arguments that their review was required. The judge sided with a lower appeals court that ruled to keep the charges in place.
Prosecutors claim the parents are guilty of gross negligence for failing to keep the weapon they bought secure. The Crumbleys have previously admitted that they purchased the weapon knowing their son had mental health struggles. It was that gun that Ethan Crumbley used to murder four people, attempting to kill several more.
The parents’ lawyers have argued that it will be impossible for a juror to determine that the Crumbleys failed to reasonably anticipate their son’s murder spree in November 2021. They also argue that the only harm in the case stems from the behavior of their son, not themselves, and his behavior was not “reasonably foreseeable,” which is the legal standard for gross negligence.
The Crumbleys are charged with multiple counts of gross negligence and involuntary homicide for each of the four murder victims. Their son pleaded guilty to killing four kids at the school, aged 14, 16, 17, and 17. The charges against him include multiple counts of first-degree murder and one terrorism-related charge.
The judge in his case ruled on Friday, September 29th that Ethan Crumbley is eligible for life without parole in prison, the maximum penalty in Michigan for murder. He said that he would consider his behavior before and after his incarceration for multiple homicides, as he had bypassed security protocols on jailhouse computers in order to view violent content, suggesting the boy would pose a continuing threat to the community if he was released.
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